"There are two reasons we don’t use the famous talent anymore. One is the amount of time need for these guys from a development standpoint," he said. "Then from a purely greater standpoint, we came to think that once the characters look so good and the facial animation is getting so good, we’ve actually moved past wanting the game to feel like its own TV show or movie come to life. We want it to be like this world come to life. Bringing a famous person into that is distracting. It wasn’t just a practical issue, it was also a greater issue that meant we were no longer pursuing famous people playing themselves, which still is interesting in the right context and something we’d definitely look to do again."

Grand Theft Auto III is about to hit its tenth anniversary. Houser told THR the game has withstood the test of time because, "There’s a real commitment to making these experiences that are unlike experiences other people are offering on games or even anywhere else. It’s a combination of unique video game experience that allows players to explore these worlds that are full of a wide variety of interesting content. It’s not trying to be a movie."

"It’s a game, but it has cinema-level production values. These games have their own take on the world, which is a combination of gangsterness and cynicism. When combined, it gives this sense of this thing that’s alive and has its own perspective. I think that’s unique within these games. Not many games are dealing with the contemporary world in quite that same way: he added.